Monster Eats SelfAJ Robinson

Having followed the absurdity that is the GOP presidential primary, I have to say, it all reminds me of an old movie I saw long ago. As a kid growing up on Martha's Vineyard, I had many opportunities to see all kinds of movies: classics, comedies, musicals, art films and so on. I remember one in particular that was scary and that's saying something for such an old movie; it was black and white, with no fancy special effects.

The GOP as FrankenStein

The movie was “Frankenstein.” I had not read the book, even though it was a classic. As Mark Twain said, ‘a classic is something everyone wants read, but no one wants to read.’

Anyway, in looking at the modern Republican Party (GOP), I saw such parallels to the story of “Frankenstein.” In an insane effort to destroy Obama, remember, they said their chief goal during his first term was to deny him a second one. They created the Tea Bagger Monster.

The GOP attached the arms of subtle racism to a body of contradictions, added Birther legs, a mouth full of lies, ears and eyes that could only see and hear what it told them and gave it an abnormal brain. Thus, the GOP created a political movement incapable of governing. The creature stomped around Congress demanding to see a birth certificate and did the exact opposite of what it said it would do.

It was supposed to be the force of the people, hence the Tea Bag reference, despite the fact that most of them didn't know the history of the event. Yet, the monster crushed anything that helped people: education, infrastructure, science and medicine. It took the same action, repeatedly, always expecting a different outcome; how many attempts at repealing the Affordable Care Act (ACA) did they pass? It also served its master by funding defense, cutting taxes on the rich and opposing anything Obama wanted, even if they supported it.

Obama is bad! Must stop the bad, ignore logic and just defeat the bad.

Their body of contradictions is massive and almost overwhelming. They want government out of people's lives, yet pass the most restrictive laws on women in years. They claim to speak for the people, yet kowtow to special interest groups on subsidies, tax breaks and regulations. They want open government, but crush the ability of some people to merely vote.

The monster complained Obama didn’t take bold, decisive action. Then they called him a dictator, anytime he issued an executive order. At the time, they praised “President” Putin, as a powerful forceful leader. The fact that the monster would sometimes literally contradict itself, in the same sentence, was positively mindboggling. Yeah, it truly had an abnormal mind and was thus a very good monster.

Now, there's the little matter of the end of the story. The movie trims down all the truly bad sad stuff in the book and tacks on an obligatory conclusion, so you may not be familiar with the details. The monster pretty much kills everyone Victor Frankenstein loves; ultimately, everyone perishes together in the frigid north while trying to destroy each other. Victor Frankenstein dies of exposure and the monster, now devoid of a master, incinerates itself on a huge pyre.

The monster destroys all in its path.

That's exactly what's happening. The monster has destroyed many fine candidates, torn the party asunder and now prepares to turn on its master, finally.

This is what happens when you toss reason, logic, science, facts and the truth into a melting pot and mix it with nonsense and lies. The result is a hodgepodge of garbage that stinks and is unworkable. All I can say is, well, GOP, you made this creature. I think it's time to burn down the lab and start over.

Combining the gimlet-eye, of Philip Roth, with the precisive mind of Lionel Trilling, AJ Robinson writes about what goes bump in the mind, of 21st century adults. Raised in Boston, with summers on Martha's Vineyard, AJ now lives in Florida. Most of the time he writes, but sometimes he works at Disney World to renew his fantasies and get a few dollars more. AJ writes, with insight and passion, about his family and his dog. His liberal, note the small "l," sensibilities often lead to bouts of righteous indignation, well focused and true.